Anthropic previews Model Hardware Standard for physical AI

Anthropic opened a research preview of the Model Hardware Standard on August 27, a shared specification that lets AI agents operate lab and manufacturing hardware such as microscopes, liquid handlers and robotic arms. The model-agnostic standard, started with HHMI Janelia and accessed through protocols including MCP, is meant to cut hardware-integration work from weeks to hours, and Anthropic plans to open-source it after the preview. Early partners include Genentech, Carnegie Mellon, QuEra Computing, AWS, Doosan Robotics, Tecan and Universal Robots.